AGRI Biz

  Remember way back when, all the way back in the fourth inning of Saturday night's Rockies game? It was a long time ago, considering the Rockies lost 5-4 in 14 innings. Jason Hammel probably remembers it well. That is when the Padres scored four runs off of the right hander. The only four runs the Padres scored in the first nine frames, the only blip on the radar for an otherwise outstanding Hammel. The whole ...

Five games into the 2010 season, the New York Mets have shown that they will have no problem competing, but at the same time, there is still room for improvement. The 2-3 Mets have drastically improved their offense from the woeful 2009 lineup. Power is now looking to be an advantage for the Metropolitans, as newcomer Rod Barajas just recently enjoyed a two-home run performance, as did Jeff Francoeur, who looks ...

Caption: Kevin Youkilis watches his eighth inning home run—his first of the 2010 season—leave Kaufman Stadium during the Red Sox 8-3 win in Kansas City. Youk’s blast was one of five Sox home runs in the game. The Red Sox hit five home runs off the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner tonight en route to an 8-3 victory in Kansas City, but the win came just inches from being ...

So far, so good. Without the great Joe Nathan, the Minnesota Twins are off to a good start and his replacement, Jon Rauch, is four-for-four in save situations. Now, granted, the sample size is very small and there's a heck of a lot of baseball yet to be played. Meanwhile, I wasn't being pithy when I said the "great" Joe Nathan—he truly is one of the best closers in the game, no doubt. But ...

Jason Varitek got off on the right foot in 2010, hitting two  home runs to lead Boston past Kansas City. Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke was the best pitcher in baseball last season. Poor starts were rare. Home runs by the opposition were sparse. Swings and misses were prevalent. For Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett , though strikeouts came in flurries last season, poor starts were frequent and ...

Following the Houston Astros' 9-6 loss the Philadelphia Phillies last night (I'm typing this at around 12:30 a.m. EST), the Astros are now 0-5 on the season. Not only does this put them in last place in the NL Central, it gives them another very dubious distinction. Houston is the only team in Major League Baseball that's still winless. The woeful Baltimore Orioles are 1-4. What about the Kansas City Royals? Not only are ...

The Cardinals’ spring as a whole was forgettable at best. But they’ve wasted no time in putting up solid offensive and pitching numbers in the first week of the season. In five games, they have outscored their opponents 30-16 and have seen four players (Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, and Colby Rasmus) hit two home runs. The pitching has matched the offense's success. Chris Carpenter won his first start, going six innings and allowing ...

1. Roy Halladay will turn in the best season by a Phillies pitcher since Steve Carlton's 27-win campaign of 1972. The former Blue Jays ace has turned in two 20-win seasons in Toronto. Imagine what he will do in Philly with seven All-Stars hitting for him. I could see him winning 22, losing just 6, and posting an ERA around 2.50. And yes, that would be enough for Halladay to become ...

As I mentioned last week , Tuffy Rhodes started 1994 with a bang. He hit three homers on Opening Day and only 10 more in his major league career. If you jumped on him because of his big day in 1994, you would have probably been rather disappointed with the rest of his season. Like Rhodes, other players will have a hot Week 1 and their statistics will seem overblown. Though ...

Flirt. The word is defined as behaving amorously without serious intent or to show superficial interest or liking. Being a single guy, flirting is something I specialize in. Yet the word also refers to coming close to reaching or experiencing something.   In the New York Yankees’ 10-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays today, CC Sabathia did just that. The Yankee ace tossed 7 2/3 innings of hitless baseball until Kelly ...